So many things unknown
by Ribbon.of.Petals
Summary: Enjolras never thought he could feel anything for a woman. But then came Joséphine with her cheeky comments, and she was so different from all the others. EnjolrasxOC. Please read it, this is my very first try at something like this!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

An eighteen year-old girl was rushing down the dirty streets with the most determined look on her face. She was here against her mother's commands of course, but how could she stay at home when she knew just how much that good woman and her children are suffering. She had been with them the past year, and she was very well aware of their circumstances. A sick widow with seven children, as poor as church mice. She had to help and thus she visited them every day, bringing medicine for the mother, some clothes and toys for the children, she cooked them dinner, fed the twin babies and cleaned the little house, which was the home of this miserable family.

At last she arrived in front of the old, ramshackle building she spent the past three weeks in. She stepped in through the shaky door and was immediately attacked by half a dozen little creature, who were all jumping up and down excitedly, pushing the others out of the way and each of them shouting at the top of their lungs:

'Josie! Josie!'

'Joséphine.' came a faint voice from the back room. The young girl, who has just entered and to whom this great feast was given, put down the big baskets she was carrying and hurried towards the door leading to the back room, giving numerous pats on the head and strokes on the cheek on her way. She stepped into a small, dark room with a bed, a little table and a chair in it. In the bed was a thin, pale woman struggling herself into a sitting position with the help of her fourteen year-old daughter beside her.

'Joséphine.' she said again holding out her trembling hands towards her. Joséphine stepped forward taking the middle-aged woman's thin hands into hers. 'I can't thank you enough for coming.'

'You always say that' said Joséphine with a smile 'even though you know I come every day.'

'I don't want you to get in trouble because of us.' sighed the woman weakly.

'You should only worry about yourself.' said Joséphine gently, avoiding to answer directly. She was already in trouble but they didn't have to know that. 'Please sleep a little while I'm preparing dinner.'

'I keep having this dream' continued the woman tears filling her eyes 'that you won't come anymore and I just wait and wait, but you won't come.' She started to breathe heavily and got a coughing seizure. Joséphine helped to calm her down and laid her on the pillows which she had brought on the first day she came to visit.

'Don't worry' she said in a calming voice 'I will come every day, I promise.'

The woman seemed eased now and closed her eyes while Joséphine and the daughter walked out of the room.

'How is she really, Louise?' asked Joséphine the tired girl beside her. She was the eldest of the children and so she had to take care of every family member in the absence of Joséphine. She took after her mother except for her beautiful golden hair, which was the only inheritance from her dead father. All the other children had the same raven black hair as their mother. Although Louise was only fourteen years old, she seemed to be much older due to the many responsibilities which had fallen on her shoulders.

'_Maman_ is better really, it's just that she was all excited and frantic that you'd not come.' sighed Louise wearily.

'I'm sorry I was late, I had to arrange some affairs of mine.'

'Oh, don't concern yourself about that.' smiled Louise. 'We all know what you risk for us and we are very grateful to you, even the little ones.'

'You should rest too.' said Joséphine avoiding the subject. 'I brought you a new novel, you can practice your reading if you'd like.'

'Oh, thank you!' said Louise, her eyes brightening. 'I'd love to.'

Joséphine took out a little, gray, paper-covered book from one of the baskets still in front of the door where she had dropped them. Louise smiled thankfully and retreated in the corner of the room near a window.

Joséphine looked around the other room of the tiny house. It had a kitchen and a dining table to the right, and a mess of old mattresses, rags, pillows and blankets to the left, which was the „bedroom" of all the children. Now every one of them were deeply occupied with something. The 12 year-old Élodie was practicing the blanket stitch Joséphine taught her the day before with more enthusiasm than actual success. The 10 year-old Georges was educating his younger brothers, the 7 year-old Philippe and the 5 year-old Anthony, about the great secrets of fencing using a spoon to demonstrate the right movements. The 3 year-old twins, Jeannette and Annette were chasing a kitten they had found earlier in the streets.

Joséphine started to unpack the ingredients for dinner from her baskets. As she was reaching for her apron, she looked out of the window and saw him. The gentleman she always saw at this time of the day passing the little house. He was tall, quite muscular, maybe a little older than her, with wavy blonde hair and always looking as if being deep in thoughts. He was a very peculiar sight indeed, and Joséphine could not help but wonder who he was and what was the thing that seemed to concern him all the time.

In the meantime, Philippe, who soon became bored by his brother's bossy manner, started to tease her older sister, Élodie by tangling her threads and cutting them with the sewing scissors. Élodie became more and more frustrated and in her anger, she threw the little basket she kept her needlework in, towards Philippe. She missed him though, and the basket flew straight out through the open window and landed in the dirty mud of the street before the feet of the above-mentioned gentleman.

Joséphine felt that she would burst out laughing any minute. She wasn't surprised at Élodie, she had quite a temper, but the look on the gentleman's face when a basket full of needlework fell before him out of nowhere, leaving tiny pieces of fabric and thread all around the pavement. Before Joséphine could have done or said anything, Élodie rushed out of the door to retrieve her precious gift from Joséphine. Joséphine ran to the door to be able to see more. The gentleman bent down to collect the shreds into the basket and by the time Élodie got next to him, he gave her the unharmed basket without a single shred missing. Élodie was overflowed with joy.

_'Oh merci, monsieur, merci beaucoup!'_ exclaimed Élodie taking the gentleman's hand. 'Please come inside and have some tea with us!' then she started dragging him towards the door, but the gentleman stood still.

'Pardon me, _mademoiselle_, I'm afraid I cannot.' he said glancing towards Joséphine to whom he thought, the little girl would oblige. Élodie noticed this, and she also turned towards Joséphine with pleading eyes.

'It's not my house, you know.' said Joséphine defensively to Élodie, not wanting to decide on this matter herself. 'And not yours either. You should ask your mother about this.'

'I already have.' said Louise cheerfully from behind Joséphine. 'And she doesn't mind.'

'Well then, we shouldn't let Élodie's saviour waiting in the doorstep any longer.' said Joséphine with a gentle smile and she stepped out of the door to let him in. He hesitantly followed her in the room, and when Joséphine gestured towards a chair, he sat down. Joséphine went to the kitchen to prepare the tea, but she was preceded by Louise.

'I want to make tea today, Josie, please.' said Louise excitedly.

'Of course, if you'd like.' said Joséphine surprised. When she was here, Louise always searched for ways not to do the housework she usually had to. Joséphine started to wonder if she was planning something. The repeated giggles and meaningful looks Louise and Élodie gave each other seemed to support her suspicion even more. Even the boys wandered about with meddlesome faces, although they were as clueless as Joséphine.

'We are very grateful for your service, monsieur…' said Élodie with an inquiring look.

'Enjolras.' said the gentleman.

'_Enchantée.'_ continued Élodie. 'My name is Élodie Martin. The mademoiselle here is Josie…erm, I mean Joséphine, and these are my brothers and sisters.' she said gesturing all around the room. '_Maman_ is sick unfortunately, so she can't be here to greet you.'

'Oh, I am very sorry indeed.' said Enjolras politely.

'Oh, I almost forgot I have some very urgent business.' Élodie jumped up from her seat and hurried away to the other side of the room dragging the boys and the twins along with her.

'As I understand, you are not related.' said Enjolras, trying to keep up the conversation.

'No we're not.' said Joséphine a little embarassed. 'My last name is… Morin.' she said after a pause, because she didn't want to use her real name, as it would have been hard to explain, so she decided on her maid's instead. 'I heard about their miserable circumstances when their mother, Mme Martin fell ill. I felt I needed to help them.'

'That's very remarkable and just the right thing to do.' said Enjolras and Joséphine felt relieved, that someone finally understands. Her parents were far from being this considerate.

'Thank you. Although I believe you are the hero now, I don't think Élodie will speak about anything else at least for a week.'

'Do you think what I did was heroic?' asked Enjolras harshly. 'All I did was picking up some shreds and rags.'

'Well, if you put it like that it doesn't sound much, but you have to consider, that Élodie hasn't got any real treasure. That basket with the shreds and rags means the whole world to her.' Joséphine said desperately and Enjolras seemed to think about what she just said, but Joséphine started to get angry now and couldn't leave it at that. 'What is your idea of being heroic?'

'Something like freeing the people from oppression.' said Enjolras still calmly, and that appeared to make Joséphine even more furious. She couldn't tell what it was in him that brought out her worst side, maybe the way he spoke, that confident manner of his, or that she couldn't help but hang on every word he said. Whatever it was, it was simply frustrating.

'Ah, I see. You're a revolutionist.' she said triumphantly.

'I never denied it.'

'Well, my opinion is, that republic won't make more bread or magically make poverty disappear.'

'No, but we can choose our leaders and thus ensure they will act rightly.' said Enjolras starting to get angry himself.

'You say „we", but you really don't mean it, don't you. For example _I_ will never be able to vote so what's the difference for me?'

'I suppose I should leave now.' said Enjolras rising from his chair, his face was red from anger as well as hers.

'I suppose so.' said Joséphine not even trying to be polite. '_Au revoir.'_

'_Au revoir.'_ said Enjolras storming out of the house and quickly rushing past it.

The children stared at Joséphine in disbelief. She was with them for a year and none of them heard her raising her voice once. She was also ashamed of herself, not because of Enjolras, but because she had to lost control in front of the children.

'I'm sorry.' she said faintly, trying to hold back her tears.

'Don't be.' said Georges grinning at her. 'We've seen odder things haven't we?' and all of them started to laugh hysterically. Joséphine felt relieved and the day passed without her thinking of Enjolras. However, when she sneaked back to her bedroom at night, she couldn't help but think that she had never met such an arrogant person in her life.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A few days later Enjolras was walking to Café Musain. He still sped up his steps passing that little house in which he met that extraordinary girl and avoided to even look at its direction. Sometimes however he unconciously caught a glimpse of a head with soft brown curls quickly turning away from the window and that appeared to make him even angrier. As if seeing her would stir his anger like fire. The worst part was that he remembered everything. Of course who could forget all that nonsense she said, but he didn't just remember that. He remembered _everything_. Disturbing details about her deep, brown eyes looking accusingly at him, her hands resting on the table, rough from hard work, but somehow still delicate and manicured. The stain on the sleeve of her dress, which was otherwise neat and simple, and how she began twisting a lock of her hair in that awkward silence at first. Her gentle smile to that little girl and, in fact, to all those children around her. And although they didn't interact much while he was there, he could not help but notice the protective glances and gestures she gave them without being aware of it herself. All of this was just too disturbing to think of.

As he was walking on, concentrating solely on the matters of the revolution, his thoughts were yet again distracted by a young woman standing on the corner of the street talking to an elderly man. She looked so much like the girl from before, except that instead of a plain, simple dress, she was wearing a richly embroidered, wine-red, velvet dress full of lace and frills. Otherwise she had the same hair colour, the same figure, even the same elegance in her movements, as that particular girl. Enjolras was about to convince himself, that he is wrong and wanted to go on, when she suddenly turned towards him. They were still quite far away, but he recognised her, and he could tell, that she did recognise him too, as she blushed guiltily and stared at the ground. Enjolras would prefer to walk away, but decency required to greet her properly, thus he stepped to them to the great surprise of the elderly man, who had shoulder-length white hair, and kind, brown eyes, which were similar to the girl's beside him. He was ruddy-cheeked, but somehow he still looked fragile and quite sickly.

'_Bonjour, mademoiselle Morin._' he said with a little bow.

_'Bonjour, monsieur Enjolras.' _she said in a faint voice. 'What a pleasant surprise to see you again.'

'Enjolras, you say?' asked the old man. 'I'm all astonishment, Josie, I thought you didn't like the company of the upper class and here you are, greeting the member of one of the most distinguished families in Paris, like an old friend.' Well, that was a huge exaggeration as Enjolras talked coldly, and Joséphine now turned pale and looked like she would collapse any minute, but the old man just laughed merrily. 'As I understand, you still want to keep your last name secret, Josie, and that's very inappropriate, as I told you many times before. You should not be ashamed of yourself, nor of your parents or me, my little niece. I bet this kind boy here haven't got a clue of who I am.' then he turned to Enjolras and shook his hands. 'I am her uncle, nice to meet you. Please excuse my little niece, she tends to think, that if she doesn't talk about her horrible relatives, they will disappear.' he then laughed again. Enjolras had never been this confused before. He didn't understand how this old man knew of his family, or what he was talking about Joséphine's family and name. Joséphine looked at her uncle with pleading eyes and turned red again.

'Please, don't say that uncle.' she said softly. 'You know I love you, but they…'

'I know, I know.' said the old man a little more seriously and stroked her cheek. 'Your mother is a very determined woman and my brother agrees with her on everything, but try to be strong, dear Josie.' he said kindly. 'Well, I think you two have a good deal to talk about, I shall leave now, dear Josie, please give the Martins my best regards. _Au revoir_, dear children.' then he got on the carriage, which was waiting for him on the other side of the street, and left a troubled Joséphine and an utterly confused Enjolras behind.

'Now you must think very ill of me.' said Joséphine quietly, staring at the ground.

'I don't know what to think.' said Enjolras.

'Please forgive me, _monsieur_.' said Joséphine suddenly, her dark brown eyes were staring desperately at Enjolras' clear, blue eyes. 'Please forgive what I had said a few days ago. I don't know what came over me, I keep blaming myself ever since, please, forgive me.'

Enjolras was completely speechless. He certainly didn't expect anything like this, and as much as he wanted to remain calm, he had this sudden urge to put his arms around her and forget about everything. How vexing.

Joséphine, who misinterpreted the silence, continued. 'My uncle is quite familiar with politics, and he explained everything to me properly, so now I can see how foolish I was.'

'Let us not brood over the past anymore, shall we, _mademoiselle_?' Enjolras couldn't believe he was the one to say these words, but he was powerless against that pair of eyes.

'Oh, I am so grateful.' said Joséphine with a sigh of relief. 'Thank you, _monsieur_. However there is still one thing I have to confess.' she said blushing slightly. 'You have yet to know, why I kept my name secret. My family is rather well-known, and I usually don't tell anyone my real name to avoid any prejudice. But since this is an exceptional situation…' Enjolras waited patiently. 'My real name is Joséphine Lamarque.' she said and waited for his reaction anxiously.

Enjolras seemed to recieve it quite well. Lamarque. Wait… Lamarque. Lamarque?

'You don't mean you are related to General Lamarque?' he asked taken aback.

'As a matter of fact, he is my uncle who just left.'

Enjolras couldn't help but feel disappointed. Not just because General Lamarque turned out to be a merry, old man instead of the respectable statesman he imagined him to be, but also because this was the perfect chance for him to share his opinions with someone competent in the subject.

'I am a fervent admirer of your uncle's work.' he said finally.

'Me too, I think he is a wonderful man, I wish my parents could see this.' said Joséphine gravely. 'But they despise my uncle for his beliefs and haven't spoken a word to him since he announced that he wanted to find employment in politics.'

'How unfortunate.' said Enjolras thinking about his own parents' snobbish behaviour.

'Well, I know they love me.' she said as if convincing herself. 'I just sometimes have the feeling that they would rather be proud of me than actually love me.'

Enjolras nodded in agreement. He knew this feeling all too well.

He accompanied her on the way to the Martins, as she wanted to visit them once again, before she went home. They had a surprisingly pleasant conversation on the way. Enjolras explained his opinions on the revolution and republic, and explained the voting system and other aspects of the Cause. He was astonished at how well-informed Joséphine was on these matters so close to his heart, and although she couldn't help to drop some sharp remarks on the subject, he tried not to notice them. He decided not to let himself get furious over her again, and also to ignore that in the sunlight her hair glistened like gold, that her white skin made a beautiful contrast with her wine-red dress, and the softness of her skin when he kissed her hand when parting. The more he tried not to acknowledge these small details, the more they seemed to stand out and that bothered him to no end. The only solution he could think of, is that if he spends more time with her, he will eventually stop noticing these things, and his life can return to normal. With that in mind, he continued his way to Café Musain.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

'He's a really agreeable _monsieur_, isn't he?' said Louise giving a meaningful look towards Joséphine.

'Who is?' she asked innocently, though she knew very well who she was talking about.

'And very handsome indeed.' added Élodie playfully. 'It's a shame that you two are always talking about boring politics, even though you'd make a perfect couple.'

'You wouldn't think it boring, if you could discuss it with that certain _monsieur_.' said Louise giggling.

'Now I've had enough of this!' said Joséphine angrily. 'You are way too young for matchmaking. And _monsieur_ Enjolras only comes here to discuss his plans, beacuse of my good relations that can help him carry them out.' she said in a convincing voice. Of course that is the only reason.

'You can say whatever you want' said Élodie looking out of the window. 'He still comes very often.'

'Please, stop teasing each other.' said a weak but commanding voice. It was Mme Martin, who was now strong enough to come out of the dark back room and she was sitting on a chair, wrapped in blankets and scarves. Her face was a little less pale and she could go out for a walk for a few minutes.

'I'm sorry, _madame._' said Joséphine turning towards her. 'I hope we haven't upset you.'

'No, I'm feeling very well, dear.' before she could say any more, Élodie exclaimed.

'He's here!' and she rushed to the door to welcome Enjolras. Joséphine put away the pair of bonnets she was sewing for the twins for the upcoming winter. She tried not to think about what Élodie and Louise had said, but even so, his presence made her feel a bit nervous and that bothered her to no end. She was raised in the bustling life of the salons of Paris, she was surrounded by a varied company, but she had never encountered with someone like Enjolras. He was so honest, almost naïve and clearly all of his thoughts were concentrated on one point, and that was the republic and nothing else. She was used to malicious gossip and all kinds of intrigues, but she just couldn't react to real honesty. It was really disturbing.

After Enjolras greeted Mme Martin and the children, he turned to Joséphine with a serious look.

'_Bonjour mademoiselle. _I came here today to ask a favour.' he said straight to the point, as always.

'Oh my.' said Joséphine smiling. 'You make it sound quite serious. What would it be?'

'I have talked about _les Amis_, and about our goals.' he said and Joséphine nodded. 'I have come to ask you to introduce General Lamarque to us to discuss with him our views on the Cause.' he said looking at her with hopeful eyes.

'The truth is, my uncle is quite unwell nowadays, and he is still recovering from a serious illness…' she said and then she looked into those, almost pleading blue eyes of his. 'But of course I will ask him about it, and I am sure that, as soon as he gets better, he will come and see you.' she said with a smile.

'Thank you for your kindness, _mademoiselle._' said Enjolras with a sigh of relief. 'It is only a matter of time and we will loose tha chains of our homeland, _la patrie_.' he said as if he was talking to himself.

'You are talking about _la patrie _as if it was a real person.' she said laughing and Enjolras looked at her with a questioning look. 'But I suppose it is a wonderful thing that you can feel so much affection for it… or should I say her?' she said in a teasing tone.

'You really like to mock me, don't you, _mademoiselle_?' said Enjolras smiling slightly. He was now used to Joséphine's raillery.

'Oh, I would never do that.' said Joséphine innocently. 'I was just wondering if I could ever meet her in person. What is her name again?' Enjolras pretended like he was engaged in observing the twins' attempt to both climb up to the same chair, but Joséphine knew he was listening to her. '_La patrie…la patrie…_Patria, now I remember.' she said triumphantly. 'She must be lovely.' Enjolras was still silent but he turned around and looked directly at Joséphine.

'She is.' he said in a low voice and Joséphine's heart was beating uncontrollably. She could literally feel the air thickening around them. Her face flushed and her breathing quickened. What is with this atmosphere?

That moment, Annette pushed Jeannette down the chair who began to cry while her twin sister occupied the seat. Joséphine jumped up and took her up in her arms and Enjolras walked to the door.

'I suppose I will leave now.' he said breathing heavily.

'Alright.' she said slowly coming to her senses while cradling Jeannette. 'I hope we will see you soon.'

Enjolras nodded and walked out in the cold evening. The breeze was cooling him down a little bit, but he was still very angry at himself. What the hell came over him? Now he made a fool of himself. But she is no better, talking about nonsense like „Patria" and such, of course he lost control. But he never will again, that's for sure, he thought as he walked on.

Joséphine closed the door behind him and looked around. It seemed no one noticed anything, which was a huge relief. She certainly couldn't have explained it to them since she didn't even know what had happened. Well, it was definitely not what you could experience in a boring salon, she thought as she put down the whining Jeannette, who toddled to her _maman_. She sighed as she began to start her usual chores, but Élodie stood before her.

'I told you so.' she whispered grinning happily, and she quickly ran to Louise to tell her the „news" and they both started giggling. Joséphine knew that they won't leave her alone for at least a week.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Enjolras was walking impatiently up and down in the crowded room of Café Musain. The rest of _les Amis_ were arguing about what matters they should discuss with Lamarque, while Enjolras was going out to the street every five minutes to check if they are here yet. But they were late. He was all agog with excitement the whole day, and now he started to get angry too. Why are they so late, they were supposed to arrive an hour ago if not more. And just a few minutes ago Marius came in, also late, and just kept babbling nonsense about some girl he met. Like it was something worth to care about. What can be so special about a woman anyway? He could never understand. Suddenly his thoughts were disturbed by the image of a pair of dark brown eyes looking at him angrily, then teasingly, then laughing, then… God, just when he thought he could forget about this. And why is he thinking about her again? Or at all? It is not like she is so special, she is just another woman. With quite useful relations that is. Speaking of which, where can they be?

All of a sudden, someone rushed into the room. Enjolras quickly turned towards him and was immediately discouraged, for the little figure which had entered so violently was just Gavroche. The others didn't notice him, although he desperately wanted attention, but he always did, so Enjolras turned towards the door again. If only they would arrive soon. Suddenly a thin voice drowned out the meddlesome consulting of the students.

'Listen everybody!' shouted Gavroche standing on a chair. He waited for everyone to look at him, then announced solemnly. 'General Lamarque is dead.'

For a moment there was complete silence. Nobody could believe that the man they were supposed to meet this day could die so suddenly. Then everyone started to talk at once standing round Gavroche asking questions about the details, for which he willingly answered, enjoying his own importance. Enjolras stared blankly to the door where Joséphine and Lamarque were supposed to enter. How could this happen? Why now?

At this moment, a slender figure entered the room. Enjolras looked up, and to his amazement, Joséphine was standing in front of him. Her face was red and she was panting, her hair loosened and the lace edging at the bottom of her emerald green dress was covered with mud. She was grasping the doorhandle as if she would collapse any minute. She looked at Enjolras and tried to say something, but as soon as she opened her mouth, she burst into tears. It wasn't until now, that the students noticed her. They looked confusedly at Joséphine, then questioningly at Enjolras, but both of them were silent, except for Joséphine's weeping. The first to recover from the complete confusion was Combeferre. He walked to Joséphine and led her to a chair.

'Come _mademoiselle_, have a seat.' he said gently taking her hand and leading her like a child. 'I'm sure you will feel a lot better soon.' Joséphine sat down on a chair, and tried to calm down with little success. The students formed a circle around her, all of them looking helpless or just simply curious about this unexpected visitor.

'Shouldn't we get her something to drink?' asked Marius uncertainly. 'Like… tea, or something?'

'Don't be joking!' said Grantaire from the other side of the room where he retreated to drink beforehand to the pleasure of meeting Lamarque, and then to his memory. 'She needs something stronger than that. Here you are, _mademoiselle_.' he said holding a glass of wine to Joséphine, who, to everyone's great surprise, accepted it without hesitation, and sipped a little from it. However, it appeared to work, because Joséphine started to breathe a little more steadily and she was able to mutter a soft 'I'm sorry.'

'It isn't your fault.' said Enjolras trying to be kind, but he was really irritated by the meaningful looks his friends gave him and each other when they realised Joséphine was his acquaintance. 'You even told me he was sick. I am sorry.'

'How do you know?' said Joséphine, her eyes filling with tears again, but she struggled to hold them back.

'Gavroche told us a few minutes ago.' said Enjolras and Joséphine nodded. She knew the little boy, well in fact, everybody knew him. Joséphine sometimes found Georges, Philippe and Anthony playing with him in the streets. Those times, she always invited him in to eat with them and let him go with considerable provision. She wasn't surprised at him knowing of the incident, he always knew everything that happened in Paris.

'Can somebody please explain, what is going on?' asked Courfeyrac a little impatiently.

'As I understand, the _mademoiselle_ has something to do with Lamarque.' said Combeferre considering what Enjolras had said just now. Joséphine nodded in agreement.

'I am his niece, Joséphine Lamarque.' she said weakly. All the students stared with disbelief and surprise, even Grantaire put away his glass of wine for a moment. Joséphine continued, looking only at Enjolras, as if talking to him alone. 'I have never thought… he was so well yesterday, he even mentioned coming here, and then when I went to him today, the doctor was already there… There was nothing to be done by then… It was so sudden. I immediately came here, because I knew you would be waiting… I am so sorry.' she finished lowering her head, trying to hide the tears which reappeared in her eyes. Enjolras looked at her compassionately. He desperately wanted to help her, but he didn't know how, so he just stared at her as she tried to hide her pain, feeling more and more frustrated because of his own helplessness.

'I think we should take her home, she needs rest.' said Combeferre looking at Enjolras, who nodded in agreement, then he turned to Joséphine. '_Mademoiselle_, can you stand up?'

'Yes, I am fine, really.' said Joséphine standing up and looking around the room. 'Thank you for your consideration.'

'Thank you, for coming here.' said Combeferre. 'And we are very sorry.'

'Yes, we are sorry.' echoed Marius, then Courfeyrac, then Feuilly, then all the students one after the other, even Grantaire muttered something over his glass, although nobody could understand, what it was. Joséphine looked around gratefully.

'Thank you.' she said in a faint voice.

'Combeferre will escort you home, _mademoiselle_.' said Enjolras and Combeferre nodded stepping next to Joséphine. 'I will see you soon.'

'_Au revoir._' said Joséphine turning back from the door before she walked away with Combeferre. Enjolras stared at her receding figure for a long time, but his thoughts were engaged on a different matter. Now, he began to consider the further consequences of Lamarque's death. Now, nobody would stand up for the people in the government, nobody would defend their rights. It was possible not to care about it, but this was something he couldn't do. And that meant only one thing: revolution.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Joséphine leaned back in the carriage and stared at her parents sitting before her. All of them were in mourning, her mother was wearing a splendid black dress which was made especially for the funeral, her fake blonde curls and her face were covered by a mourning veil and occaisonally she lifted a handkerchief near her eyes. Although she couldn't see her face because of the veil, Joséphine knew she wasn't crying, she was just putting on an act for the people who came to Lamarque's funeral. Her father was just staring blankly out of the window and the look on his face clearly showed how much he wanted this to be over. Joséphine couldn't decide which was worse, her father's honest negligence or her mother's fake tears, but either way the atmosphere almost strangled her. It was the same when she returned home and told her parents what happened, the only thing they could think of was the financial part of the funeral and that how unfortunate it is, that now they all have to be in mourning and that made her feel sick. Joséphine looked out of the window for a little relief and she was flattered by the number and affection of the simple people who had come. She was sure her uncle would be happier if the people for whose sake he worked so hard were to accompany him on his last journey instead of the ridiculously grandiose ceremony which her parents organized.

As the funeral procession slowly went on, she started to wonder if _monsieur_ Enjolras or anyone of _les Amis_ came as she searched for them in the crowd. Earlier that day she thought she saw Gavroche but then she convinced herself it was just her imagination, though she thought he must be here somewhere. When there was any kind of public gathering, Gavroche was always in the middle of it. The thought of the cheerful little boy almost put a smile on her face, when suddenly a horrible noise disturbed the solemn silence. It sounded like a gunshot, but Joséphine wasn't sure because she had never heard a gunshot before, and she couldn't imagine who and why would shoot during her uncle's funeral. But then the noise was repeated again, and then again. Everyone in the crowd was moving at once, everyone was looking for a way to escape, or to join the rebellion. Because it was a rebellion indeed, as Joséphine leaned out of the window to be able to see more, she saw several soldiers dispersing the crowd and shooting basically anyone they could.

'Do not lean out, Joséphine dear.' said Mme Lamarque in a hysterical voice. Now she shed real tears because of the panic, and she trembled as she tried to pull Joséphine away from the window, while her husband held her protectively. 'You will get hurt.' she cried but in vain, because at that moment Joséphine caught a glimpse of a blonde-haired gentleman leading the crowd, carrying a red flag and she immediately jumped out of the carriage and ran after him. Her parents didn't follow her.

Joséphine tried to force her way through the crowd, but she got swept away several times. She started to panic herself, everywhere she looked, terrified people were trying to find shelter. A dead body in a pool of blood was left in the mud of the streets, a little boy was crying in the midst of the chaos and the horrifying sound of the guns could be heard without end. Joséphine was holding back the tears. Why is this even necessary? There must be a cause to this cruelty. She was desperately searching for Enjolras, from whom she expected all the answers and confrontation. She needed to believe that everything will be alright. That moment, she spotted him at the highest point of the whole scene, on the top of the hearse. The hearse in which her uncle's coffin was. Her uncle's coffin! She started walking towards him, but she lost him again, as a young gentleman, in whom she recognized Marius, galloped away holding a red flag just beside her. She ran after him, hoping that Enjolras will be there and she was right, although she couldn't get near him as he was leading the crowd and everyone gathered around him.

'Enjolras!' she cried at the top of her lungs not even noticing that she forgot the _monsieur_. Enjolras turned around and looked at her surprised. He stepped out of the crowd and was now standing face to face with Joséphine. 'What is the meaning of this?'

'What do you think?' asked back Enjolras forgetting about politeness himself. He wanted to go and help at the barricade, there might be a chance that they will be attacked, and here he is, wasting the time.

'People have been hurt.' said Joséphine desperately.

'I know.' he said suddenly realizing that fact.

'People have died.' continued Joséphine.

'I know.'

'Innocent people, who had nothing to do with this.'

'I know.'

'_You_ can die too.' said Joséphine trembling at the thought.

'I_ know_.' said Enjolras frustrated.

'Then why are you doing this?' she asked.

'Because we have no other choice.'

'Of course you have.' she said interupting him. 'I'm sure you can solve this peacefully.'

'Lamarque tried to solve it peacefully, and what did he achieve?' said Enjolras raising his voice. Joséphine backed away offended. 'I'm sorry' said Enjolras in a whisper 'but if we want a change, we have no other choice.' he said and ran away towards the barricade. Joséphine stood there as the tears slowly ran down her cheeks. Then she took a deep breath and wiped them off. She didn't want to go back to the funeral, the ceremony was messed up anyway, so she decided to go to the Martins.

She spent the whole day with them trying not to hear the distant sound of the fight and trying not to think of what could have happened by now. When she told Mme Martin what had happened on the funeral, she refused to let any of her children out and the little boys were quite offended because they wanted to see a real fight. They tried to ask Joséphine about the details, but she told them they shouldn't hear of such cruel things. Louise and Élodie sat down in the corner with their needlework and looked at Joséphine anxiously from time to time. Joséphine was in very low spirits and as time went by, she became restless. She was walking up and down the tiny room wondering why she is so concerned about Enjolras or rather, why she is more concerned about him than anyone else. It may be that she knew him better than the others, but that didn't explain why she feels that her world would end if something happens to him. Her heart broke even at the thought of it, and no matter how hard she tried not to think about it, it crept into her mind every time she heard a gunshot from the distance. She felt so useless, but she didn't know what to do either.

Mme Martin watched Joséphine's struggles and realized their cause even before Joséphine herself did. She suspected it for a while, and now her heart broke at the sight of two young people being torn apart. She took Joséphine's hand as she almost fainted when the sound of another gunshot reached them.

'Bring him home.' she whispered kindly. Joséphine looked at her confused, but as she understood, she smiled gratefully and ran away towards the barricade. Mme Martin watched her as her figure vanished in the darkness of the night and suddenly had that uneasy feeling that this may be the last time she saw her.


End file.
